ByteDance denies selling TikTok's US business to a US consortium led by Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US)

It is reported that ByteDance has agreed to sell its U.S. business of the short video platform TikTok to a U.S. consortium headed by Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US), while retaining a minority stake. ByteDance denies this and states that the news is unfounded and no agreement has been reached. It is understood that the above transaction aims to comply with the U.S. "Protecting American from Foreign Adversaries Act" and address U.S. concerns about data security. The transaction still requires approval from the governments of both China and the U.S., with the final deadline set by the U.S. government currently being September 17th. According to previous reports by the media, a consortium composed of Oracle Corporation, Blackstone Inc., and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz had almost acquired the relevant business earlier. Under the potential agreement, ByteDance will spin off an entity to take over the TikTok U.S. business, with the new external investors holding 50% of the shares and existing investors holding about 30%. ByteDance's ownership stake in TikTok will decrease to slightly below 20%, thus complying with the provisions of the "sell or be banned" law. The report also reveals that Oracle Corporation will hold a small amount of shares in this joint venture and provide security guarantees.